The present disclosure relates to a collapsible support frame particularly for an infant pushchair, the support frame in an erect configuration comprises at least a centrally located elongate spine and a seating cavity within the support frame in which to receive a seat, the spine being coupled at or towards one end to a coupler and at or towards its other end to a handle assembly. The collapsible support frame is particularly, but not exclusively, a collapsible support frame for an infant pushchair.
Such a collapsible support frame, which is for example known from the international patent application WO 2008/054852, comprises a rigid straight spine with a slidable extension. This spine can not be folded to collapse.
Support frames find an application in a great variety of ways. Often it is desirable for a support frame to be collapsible such that it may be converted between erect and collapsed configurations as desired.
This aspect of support frames is beneficial in the case of a support frame that is of a size and renders it suitable for manipulation by a human user without, for example, motorized assistance. One particular example of a support frame of this general kind occurs in a pushchair or buggy designed for the purpose of conveying an infant.
It has for many years been known to provide such devices, which are of great utility to parents and other carers of infants, comprising a convertible framework defining a perimeter or a series of attachment points to which a flexible, typically textile, seat portion is secured.
The nature of the framework is such as to permit its conversion between erect and collapsed configurations. The attached seat portion, which typically is a padded sheet of a composite fabric material, by reason of its attachment also converts between collapsed and extended positions on conversion of the framework as aforesaid.
The ability to collapse the pushchair permits its ready storage and transportation.
Since pushchairs are manipulated by hand it is desirable for them to be light in weight. It is also desirable to be able to convert a pushchair of the kind outlined between the erect and collapsed configurations using essentially a one-handed process. This feature in pushchairs is strongly sought-after by manufacturers and designers since there is a perception that the pushchairs must be easy to use even when one hand of the user is occupied, for example, in carrying an infant or some of the paraphernalia that attends their care. A further, strongly desired feature of successful pushchair designs is that they must collapse to as small a size as possible in order to facilitate their transportation, for example, in the generally cramped load areas of modern hatchback cars yet when erect the pushchairs must be large enough safely to support an infant. This requirement for space efficiency is particularly acute in relation to the relative lengths of the pushchair when in its erect and collapsed configurations since it is often necessary to store the pushchair lying transversely in a vehicle boot. Consequently the overall length of the pushchair when collapsed must be considerably less than the width of the interior of a small car.
The stability of the pushchair in use is also very important. It is critical for the footprint of the in-use pushchair to be as large as possible so that the movements of an active child within the seat portion are insufficient to cause the pushchair to tip over. It therefore is very important that the erect-collapsed volume ratio of a pushchair is as large as possible in order to meet the twin design aims of compactness when collapsed and the generation of a large footprint when erect.